Woman who set fire to Wyoming abortion clinic gets 5 years

Wyoming only full-service abortion clinic cordoned off by police tape

By MEAD GRUVER

Associated Press

Sept. 29, 2023 3:49 AM PT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. —

A judge handed down the minimum prison sentence of five years to a woman who set fire to what was to be Wyoming’s first full-service abortion clinic in at least a decade.

Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison and three years probation by a judge who cited emotional and physical abuse by parents who expected her to someday play a “supporting role” in her own life in deference to a future husband. Prosecutors and Green’s attorney said at the hearing that they agreed to the mandatory minimum sentence.

In addition, Green will have to pay “very, very substantial” restitution that is yet to be determined but will be “well over $280,000,” U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson said.

Green said little at the hearing but, through her attorney, told the court that she acted alone, accepted responsibility and didn’t intend to cause fear or make a political statement but that she failed to handle her strong emotions about the Wellspring Health Access in Casper, Wyo. The fire delayed the clinic’s opening by almost a year.

“You are a talented and gifted person,” Johnson told her. “You are entitled to your opinions, whatever they may be, but those opinions do not justify in any respect the terror that was caused.”

As many as 20 supporters of Green turned out for the hearing. Green looked to them with a slight smile after entering the courtroom, but neither she nor they showed emotion during the proceedings. Two women and a man who sat among Green’s supporters during the proceedings said her family had no comment.

Johnson said he had received a “remarkable” outpouring of letters in support of Green from family, friends and community members.

She had faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty in July. At her plea hearing, she said she was sorry for what she did.

Green told investigators that she opposed abortion and that anxiety and nightmares about the clinic caused her to burn it. Johnson urged Green to get treatment for her obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression, which were described in a “lengthy report” from a psychologist.

“You are a complex person,” Johnson told her.

The judge related details from pre-sentencing reports about her now-distant relationship with “helicopter” parents after a childhood in which she was regularly spanked up to age 18. Her mother once struck and gave her sister a bloody nose, Johnson said, referring to the documents.

Green experienced “emotional and physical abuse” and “control and manipulation by her parents,” who “talked down” to her, Johnson said.

The pre-sentencing reports have not been made available to the public.

The fire happened weeks before the clinic was to open. Extensive damage to the building being remodeled for the clinic kept it from opening for almost a year.

Green admitted to breaking in, pouring gasoline around the inside of the building and lighting it on fire, according to court documents.

She told a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent that she bought gas cans and aluminum pans the day before the fire, drove to Casper and carried the cans and pans to the clinic in a bag. Her account matched security video and a witness account, according to a court filing.

She admitted using a rock to break glass in a door to enter and pouring gasoline into the pans in several rooms and on the floor before lighting it, according to the document.

Investigators said they made little progress finding who started the fire until a reward was increased to $15,000 in March, leading several tipsters to identify Green.

The arson was one of hundreds against abortion clinics in the U.S. since the 1970s, said Julie Burkhart, Wellspring’s founder and president.

Burkhart told the hearing that she had a daughter about Green’s age and felt sorry that she had derailed her life by burning the clinic.

“In a way, my heart breaks for the defendant. She made a terrible choice and committed a heinous crime,” Burkhart said.

The clinic, which opened in April, provides surgical and pill abortions, making it the first of its kind in Wymoing in at least a decade. Only one other clinic in the state — in Jackson, some 250 miles away — provides abortions, and only by pill.

Women in the largely rural state often go to nearby states, including Colorado, for abortion services.